ThreadWritten Cultural Textile Tour: Hungarian Written Embroidery, Transylvania, Romania + Budapest, Hungary
June 10 - 19 and October 7 - 16, 2025
Registration is open!
Discover the craft and culture of Hungarian Kalotaszeg írásos, written embroidery, from Transylvania, Romania. Meet in Budapest, Hungary, and then take private transportation to Transylvania, Romania where you’ll spend 5 nights in a tiny village nestled in the hills of the Kalotaszeg region. Share homemade family-style meals, taste Hungarian and Romanian dishes in restaurants, and local wine. Visit an impressive, regional, ethnographic museum and spend three days immersed in the history, culture, and practice of written embroidery, with artisans where the style originated. Shop for textiles at a bi-annual antique and flea market. End the retreat with two days in either Saxon Transylvania, exploring villages and medieval Sighisoara (June) or in historic Maramureș, known for its wooden churches and village life in the Carpathians. Free time in the evenings will balance our busier days together.
For this event, I am partnering with a local guide and the non-profit organization Tarnat - Kalotaszeg Durabil. Tarnat supports sustainability and the preservation of agriculture, architecture, and sewing culture in the Kalotaszeg region.
There is so much to see that we added another night this year! The experience is about much more than textiles: it is rich with Romanian and Hungarian social and cultural values, urban and rural life, music, dance, nature, local food cultivation, and more! Husbands and partners are welcome. If you’d rather not embroider, we can find alternative activities for workshop time. See photos from the 2023 trip HERE!
Learn, Create, and Experience:
Get acquainted with Budapest with a walk and welcome dinner in the city center
Learn to stitch written embroidery (írásos) from women in the villages where the style began– with over three days of embroidered textile culture, history, and hands-on practice
Hunt for antique textiles at local markets and step back in time in old homes and churches
See people in traditional dress and visit locals’ tiszta szoba, formal rooms, where they keep their traditional painted furniture, pottery, and clothing
Visit medieval Saxon city Sighisoara, the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler (June) or the wooden churches of Maramureș deep in the Carpathians (October)
Try a step or two in our private dance lesson
Visit a Romani (Gypsy) family and learn about their culture and lives in Romania today (June only)
9 nights accommodation: one night in a 4-star hotel in central Budapest, followed by several nights in charming guesthouses in the Kalotaszeg and Saxon or Maramureș regions with single and shared rooms available
Kalotaszentkiraly/ Sancraiu, Romania
ITINERARY
Day One
2:00 Meet at hotel in Budapest and drop off bags.
Neighborhood walk and museum visit by foot/metro.
Welcome dinner.
Stroll back to hotel and relax.
Day Two
Early breakfast at the hotel.
6:45 Private transportation to Kalotaszeg, Transylvania.
Lunch in Oradea, Romania.
Continue to Kalotaszeg to meet Tarnat - Durabil founders for an introduction to the area and írásos.
Dinner at the guesthouse, our home for the next 5 nights.
Day Three
8:00 Private transportation to beautiful, regional, textile museum near Cluj Napoca for tour with the curator.
Village lunch.
Meet artisans and view collections in two villages: Visit the home of the carrier of the írásos tradition, author of two books, and learn more about the history of the work.
Dinner at the house.
Day Four
Day-long stitching workshop with village lunch and special collection viewing.
Dinner at the house.
Day Five
8:00 Leave guesthouse for special antique/ flea market.
Homestead lunch in Alanisu.
Afternoon embroidery at the guesthouse with one of our instructors.
Dinner at the house.
Our creative work on retreat: Hungarian written embroidery, called írásos in Hungarian.
Ilonka, one of our instructors in her tisztaszoba, formal room.
The 14th century Clock Tower in Sighisoara, a UNESCO World Heritage city that dates back to Roman times. Photo: free use stock image.
Day Six
Visit local embroiderer and her husband, a traditional wood carver.
Travel by bus and country walk to a special lunch at a private home.
Embroidery practice with a local artisan.
Return to our house for dinner.
Private music and dance performance with a dance lesson.
Day Seven
Visit Szék and a small private collection.
Travel to the Saxon region stopping for lunch with a family.
Afternoon workshop with a Romanian sheepskin waistcoat embroiderer.
Continue to our Saxon village guesthouse for dinner.
Day Eight (and onward: June trip only*)
Visit Braşov and a nearby village where a local weaver and ethnographer will share the local clothing tradition created by Romanian, Hungarian, and German influences.
Village lunch.
Viscri: walk in the village, visit the UNESCO fortified church.
Dinner and relaxation. Pack up to travel to our special guesthouse for the last night.
Day Nine
Quick morning visit to Sighişoara.
Visit a Romanian weaver in a charming nearby Saxon village. Learn about the traditional Romanian blouse, ie.
Visit a Roma (Gypsy) family at their home and learn about their way of life.
Farewell dinner with local wines at a village resort nestled in a Saxon valley. Share our experiences from the week.
Day Ten
Early morning breakfast and departure for Budapest.
Kalotaszeg village lunch on our way back.
Evening arrival in Budapest.
Say goodbye. Continue your stay in Budapest on your own or return home.
*MARAMURES in October:
For the October tour, Days Seven - Ten, after stopping in Szék, we will travel to Maramureș and get to know the village life and customs. We’ll learn from a weaver, potter, and embroiderer. We’ll visit UNESCO World Heritage wooden churches, a local market, and the cities of Sighetu Marmației and Săpânța. They will be an incredibly rich complement to our Kalotaszeg stay.
Please note: Itinerary is subject to small changes due to weather, scheduling, opportunities, and the desires of the group.
Details:
Ground transportation, from our departure on Day 2 to our return to Budapest on Day 10, and all meals are included with the exception of one meal on the road on day 10.
Group size: 6 -10 participants.
All embroidery supplies are included. You are welcome to bring another project and portable light for evening free time.
We will stay in a 4-star hotel in Budapest for the first night: single and shared rooms are available.
Near Kalotaszeg we’ll stay in a cozy guest house with a restaurant for 5 nights. Each room has its own bathroom.
In the Saxon region, we’ll stay for two nights at a charming village guest house with rooms situated around a courtyard and original architecture built over 100 years ago. You will have a double bed and your own bathroom to yourself as a single or if with your spouse. For our last night, we’ll close with a special dinner and stay at a beautiful village resort created by a German chef and restaurateur.
In Maramureș, we’ll stay at a guesthouse with separate cottages, getting a feel for peasant village life years ago.
Fees:
A. Single room with bath en suite in Kalotaszeg and in the Saxon region or Maramures: $4895
B. Twin bed in a Shared room in Kalotaszeg for friends or double bed for a couple in Saxon or Maramures: $4195
Deposit: $1000 Nonrefundable.
Registration:
Please make sure you have agreed to the Terms and Conditions. Pay with ACH (US), credit card, or bank transfer in your currency.
Questions? Please email me!
“This was a magnificent trip! I expected embroidery but not the total cultural immersion. Just fabulous and I have led 103 tours and been to 89 countries… I will never forget sitting with a sweet kerchiefed grandma as we laughed together at my inexpertise with the needle…and the heartfelt warm welcomes in so many homes being lovingly hosted and then learning new things…the fabulous special rooms with painted furniture and embroideries, and sparkling crowns, and we had so many experiences…. Each day was filled with joy and adventures.
It truly was the trip of a lifetime!”
-Helene C.